It is frustrating for me that discussing sexuality is so absent or off-base in our culture. Talking about sexuality and “private” body parts is routinely shrouded in shame-based avoidance or denigrated by exploitive humor.
Something so natural and pleasant as sexuality is typically avoided or danced around in our culture. It is something of a paradox since our bodies are so emblematic of who we are and how we see ourselves. Yet we are so reluctant to genuinely share what would otherwise be expressive of what is and who we are.
Speech mirrors cultural behavior. It is interesting to me how men and women play peekaboo with breasts. We play a mutual game of going to great lengths to display and observe the shape of women’s breasts or reveal an abundance of skin. We only stop at the ambivalence of how much nipple to display.
The poverty of our sexual language in the culture reflects this ambivalence about bodies. I am happy that some friends and I choose to embrace and even redeem sexual language. This freedom of speech has begun to flow into my casual conversation with friends and we sometimes bravely talk about issues related to our sexuality. Speech need not be hamstrung by culture.